“What’s up, bruh?” Wayne said as he gave me dap. Nelle was still in my arms.
“Nothing much.” I said as I dapped him back.
“Son.” My dad said. I just nodded and shook his hand.
“Where are the girls?” I asked Wayne.
“Man, Aniyah is trippin’ again. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with that shit, so the girls made you a card.” He pulled two pieces of paper with colorful drawings on them out of his back pocket. I was grateful for my family during this time. I felt like a coward for not standing up or getting my own ass of this situation, but I was thankful for the way out thanks to Roon. He was able to help me out of the situation with the Henríquez Cartel. I did help a little, but it was his plan, and I had no choice but to follow or be stuck working for Tino Henríquez.
I was eighteen now, and every decision from now on affected my life, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life just yet, but I knew the streets weren’t for me. I accidentally got into something that could’ve ruined my whole life if something had gone wrong. When Roon said that I could attend a military school last year since I was already in ROTC, I figured why not. It kept me away to the point I was no longer valuable to Tino Henríquez. Still, a man like him always made an opportunity out of anything. He actually wanted me to push drugs through my program. I don’t know what his actual intentions were with me, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to let me go. And neither did he psychotic ass daughter. So when one the opportunity landed in my lap to apply for the navy, I took that shit without hesitation. I didn’t want to leave my life, and I wasn’t really in the service life, but I took this as my way out of Tino’s reach. I purposely excelled well so that I would always be busy even when I came home to visit. Once I graduated, I really wanted to go off to college, but I figured that would be too easy of a reach for him and Tiffany. I could’ve gone to my dad, but I didn’t want to bring him into this mess. Hell, Wayne or any of my siblings really knew why I randomly wanted to fight our country. I asked Roon not to mention it because I knew Wayne would get into it and probably get in deeper than me. He had his kids to think about, and although he was working with Roon, he wasn’t as deep as some people would assume. This my problem, and I was handling it the best what I could think of. And I was hoping to not be gone too long. I still wanted to live my life and be a part of Nelle’s. I love this little girl so much, and she loved me. That was my partner in crime, and I knew since Jemar’s punk ass wasn’t around much, I needed to step up and be around. I know she was going to be hurt and sad once she realized I wasn’t around anymore, but I planned to call and video chat as much as possible. I loved Nelle as if she was my own daughter and knew that when it was my time to have kids, I would be the best father ever.
“Y’all eat yet?” I said as I walked through the living room towards the dining room.
“No, we were waiting on you, and Nelle is getting hungry.” My mother said, trying to take Nelle from me. Nelle looked at her then at me but didn’t even move. She was right in her favorite’s uncle arms and wasn’t planning to move anytime soon.
“You spoil her.” My mother said as she rolled her eyes.
“You all spoil her,” Bre said as she walked into the dining room and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Whatever. I just love hard when it comes to this one. She’s my bestie.” I kissed Nelle’s little fat cheek. She smiled big, showing two teeth at the top and bottom. Nelle was cute, and I knew boys would be a problem, but Uncle Eric would be there to shut them down. She still looked like Jemar, but Bre features were starting to pop up.
“Hey, have you heard from Chianne?” I asked Bre as she took a seat at the dining room table.
“We talked earlier. She Facetimed to see Nelle.”
“Is she coming back home any time soon?” I was desperate for any information on her since she still wasn’t talking to me.
“Umm, not that I know of,” Bre said but avoided eye contact with me. She finally learned of our secret relationship after Chianne left for Cali. She said she suspected something going on with us, but waited awhile to ask. She really got all of the information from Chianne, but Chi never told her about catching me with Tiffany. She just told Bre that we weren’t as compatible as we thought we were and just decided to be friends. I wonder why she didn’t tell Bre the real truth, but I was happy that she didn’t share it because I knew Bre would’ve been on my ass.
“Okay, well, let’s eat. You ready to eat, mama?” I asked Nelle.
“Yes!” She said.
∞∞∞
Today was the day I was finally heading off to my new life for the next two years, then another two to four years, depending on my Active Duty service. My dad asked if he could drop me off my departing location. I honestly didn’t want my family to see my off; that’s why I wanted to have the little dinner so we could get the emotional shit out of
